Pitch Ratings: How a Cricket Ground Can Be Banned From Hosting

A pitch is judged on a four-point scale: Very Good, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory or Unfit.

Unsatisfactory earns 1 demerit point, Unfit earns 3; they sit on the venue for five years.

Five demerit points in five years means a 12-month hosting ban; ten means two years.

A low-scoring or spin-friendly pitch is not automatically a bad one — danger and unevenness are what get flagged.

The match referee rates the surface, but the home board can appeal within 14 days.